Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: 8. MacDullin Abbey (1)
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"......"
Penny furrowed her brow and glared piercingly at the desk.
The office she'd received from Baron Ludwig of Badenverk was spacious, tall, and luxurious.
She was far too grave to enjoy such opulence.
Every document from Philip's collection was neatly arrayed on the desk.
There were plenty of other documents destined for the 1st Party, but she'd simply piled those on the floor.
Status reports and reminders from the imperial family and Holy Flame Church, notices on donation expenditures and tax benefits, supply convoy toll bills, scout unit directive requests.
Penny had no time for such trifles.
'Philip...'
His saga, starting from the beggar girl Sylvia.
The mischievous Aria.
The debauched Beatrice.
The wild Kaily.
He had gathered those four and forged humanity's brightest light.
The 1st Hero Party.
Ian, its manager.
'...Ian.'
Kaily had said it.
Ian was the one who had gathered and raised them.
The other heroes agreed.
They testified that Ian had provided the dungeon information.
But Penny knew differently.
Ian was a figurehead for the 1st Party, with Philip as the true manager—that was the common consensus.
Whether Philip truly existed or not, everyone believed it.
Of course, Penny had uncovered the truth through relentless pursuit.
'Philip exists.'
The mountain of documents from his collection right before her eyes was proof.
Recently, she'd added new information to that fact.
'Philip exists, and he is the same person as Ian.'
Assuming that made Philip's actions consistent.
If Ian had put forward the alias Philip to the public, it was a reasonable inference.
If he was truly the man named Philip, he would have the capability for it.
Philip, Ian.
Ian, Philip.
The two names flashed rapidly through her mind before beginning to merge.
'That explains everything...'
Was it true?
Was Ian Philip?
Was Philip that Ian?
Then, then...
'What the hell have I done... What the hell was I doing...'
Had he been right there in front of her?
It was hard to accept.
Perhaps it was just her belated regret refusing to face reality.
But such a hollow ending...
'No, you can't be someone who ends like this...'
-Knock knock.
Someone rapped on the door.
Penny hurriedly gathered the collection and hid it before responding.
"Come in."
It was one of the couriers she'd recently hired.
He handed her two letters and left.
One was from the Managers' Guild.
The other from the imperial family.
Penny checked the seemingly mundane Managers' Guild letter first.
She received regular updates on guild happenings and points of caution.
'Felix...? Oh, right, that guy.'
Penny knew about her own Penny fever.
Felix was among the severe cases.
He usually restrained himself in her presence, but Felix shamelessly displayed his symptoms even before her.
'He was one of the cornerstones for Lord Philip's gift, but he fell away early... The military police showing up means all the incidents he's piled up have finally exploded.'
Penny clicked her tongue and read on.
'Nothing else noteworthy... Huh? King Slime?'
There had been a historically massive and powerful boss monster in the exam hall.
It was so grand that it earned the epithet 'King Slime' beyond just 'Big Slime,' which surprised even Penny a bit.
'I don't know the details, but far stronger than a Big Slime, I bet. Vivian, aspiring mage, took it down alone...?'
It overlapped.
A certain figure and incident began overlapping one by one with this 'Vivian' now entering her view.
'Felix's former aspirant. Failed ten times, then dramatically returned after two years by slaying a King Slime.'
The beggar girl Sylvia.
The girl who drank rainwater, her talent unknown, had dramatically debuted as the first in temporary hero exam history to solo a 'Big Slime.'
'Vivian's manager...'
The manager who discovered Sylvia was none other than.
'Ian...'
Philip.
"......"
Penny's hand trembled violently as she gripped the letter.
The force was enough to tear it, so she hastily let go.
"Haaah..."
She exhaled in rapture, sweeping her face with both hands.
"Yes..."
Everything fit perfectly.
Ian and Philip.
Heroic sagas identical to a chilling degree.
No one but him could have done it.
'Yes... This is more like you...'
Penny chuckled, steeling her resolve.
Philip was still active.
'You can't end with something like that, right... Yes... This is how I can break you...'
Her smile faded the instant she opened the imperial envelope.
The sender's name was at the top.
[Philip]
"...Huh?"
Ian is Philip.
Philip is Ian.
That connection shattered with one letter.
Penny hastily read the entire missive.
It was a distribution map of A-grade and higher dungeons centered on Badenverk.
'This many?'
She was first shocked by the number, then puzzled that the imperial family had grasped it all.
'Only Lord Philip could know this information... right?'
She couldn't be certain, given the imperial family's ties to Philip.
No, with eyes and ears across the continent, it was natural for them to know this much.
Then why use Philip's name?
'Wait... What is this...'
She thought she understood everything, only for it all to unravel again.
Her mind was a jumble.
'How?'
Philip used a magic seal, not an imperial stamp.
But there was no rule saying he couldn't send letters through the palace.
The letter even mentioned being busy tidying up Ian.
But Penny, who had analyzed Philip's letters for so long, knew one thing.
'Handwriting.'
Philip's letters used only two handwriting styles.
One was Ian's assistant, Mercy.
'When Philip conveys words to Ian, Mercy transcribes them.'
She presumed the unidentified other was Philip himself.
She knew Ian's handwriting, but it never appeared in Philip's letters.
This letter's handwriting was entirely unfamiliar.
'Who is the owner of this letter?'
Philip?
Or the palace impersonating Philip?
What was the relationship between Ian and Philip?
If Ian was Philip, there was no reason for him to help the 1st Party that ousted him or Penny.
Then were Ian and Philip separate entities?
Her head throbbed as someone burst through the door.
Kaily, Aria, Beatrice, Sylvia.
Sylvia strode forward and slammed a red magic stone atop the scattered letters.
"A-grade magic stone."
"......"
Penny had no room to respond.
She was lost in a daze.
Whether she replied or not, Sylvia had urgent business.
"Ian. Do you know where he is?"
"...Ian. Ian?"
They were looking for Ian.
Why?
No, Penny wanted to meet Ian and ask too.
But what would she even...
Penny's thoughts stuttered.
Glared at by the silent woman, Sylvia's gaze fell to the letter beneath her feet.
It was the Managers' Guild report.
"...Vivian?"
She murmured the name written there and picked it up.
[Aspiring mage who slew a King Slime and made her comeback. Vivian—person of interest.]
The story resembled Sylvia herself.
[Her manager is Ian, former manager of the 1st Party.]
Vivian's manager was the same as Sylvia's own.
Sylvia scowled and growled under her breath.
"...Who the hell is this bitch."
As the other three heroes behind her peered over, Sylvia glared at the floor.
"So that's what Ian's been up to while we were gone..."
"Not even apologizing to us? Unbelievable."
Kaily and Beatrice let out hollow laughs.
Even the last, Aria, grimaced.
"Ian..."
Sylvia glared at Penny, but couldn't pierce her glazed eyes.
Her slack-jawed mouth showed she was far from normal.
"Aria, come with me."
Sylvia spun roughly on her heel.
"We're going to Superbia."
Where Sylvia and Ian's bond began.
And where Vivian and Ian had recently passed the exam.
"...Yeah. Let's go."
Sylvia and Aria set off for Superbia.
The remaining Kaily had words for Penny.
"Hey. We brought the magic stone, so handle it properly. Don't forget the settlement."
Beatrice chimed in.
"Find the next dungeon quick."
Penny nodded blankly.
Kaily and Beatrice would drown their battle fatigue in revelry tonight as usual.
It wasn't without anxiety.
They wanted to follow Sylvia and Aria too.
But shallow pride.
And fear of facing the truth held their feet.
They just wanted to drink until they passed out.
Left alone, Penny's mind churned through information indiscriminately.
The recalled info quickly sank into her subconscious.
One word lingered.
'Felix...'
Ian and Vivian.
Vivian and Felix.
Felix, who had endured without discipline until now, was dragged off by military police after meeting Ian and Vivian.
'Ian, Philip, Felix...'
Penny bolted up as realization dawned.
'I need to meet Felix.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 🧠 MEMORY CORRECTION 🧠 All I see is a road flanked by dense forests. I'm walking leisurely through the rain. This wasn't hearsay—it was directly showing my past memory.
So, did that mean I'd been near MacDullin Abbey before?
A scream flies from somewhere along the road.
I cautiously approach the source.
A ripple of yellow light appears in the distance.
I know what that is.
It's a protective miracle used by priests.
They manifest light as a barrier and wield it like a shield.
It was clearly an enormous barrier of immense density.
An arrow striking the yellow light bounces off.
But repeated impacts gradually wore it down.
Blood streamed from the body of the woman maintaining the protection.
Having lost too much blood, the barrier crumbled.
She was fully exposed to the arrows.
Several shafts killed her.
I can't clearly see the fallen woman's face.
I can only tell she's wearing partial heavy armor over combat priest robes.
Around her fallen form, other trembling people are visible.
I pass her body and charge ahead to fight the enemies.
They are humans.
Not demonkin or demons, but armed humans.
Bandits are common in this world.
🧠 MEMORY CORRECTION 2 🧠 This time, it's an overheard rumor. A later point than the previous memory correction. 'Heard they held a public fundraiser at MacDullin Abbey?' 'Of course. Those fearless bastards caused quite the stir.' 'I knew it from before. Didn't they say half got robbed by the bandit gang targeting those tycoons?' 'Those rich guys went without private guards?' 'Obviously they brought them. But the bandits numbered over sixty—what could they do?' ... The memory ends there.
What the...
Was there some incident at MacDullin Abbey before too?
In my second playthrough, I only heard world news and never got close, so I'm not sure.
Memory Correction connects useful things from the past to the present to remind me.
For now, it means that priest is at the MacDullin Abbey I'm heading to.
It was an unmistakably powerful protective miracle.
That's crucially important.
Priest miracles fall into three broad categories.
Healing, smiting, protection.
Healing mends wounds or neutralizes poison, as the name implies.
Smiting burns foes with holy light.
Finally, protection forms light barriers.
Early in the war, healing was naturally top priority.
Smiting came next.
But as the war intensified, protective miracles became insanely vital.
Late-game powerhouses killed heroes and soldiers in one hit, leaving no time to heal.
They were monsters in the literal sense.
Protective miracles that could block that one shot were lifelines in themselves.
Even now, protective miracles are deemed important in B-grade-plus dungeons, but not to future extremes.
At aspirant or temporary hero level, they're probably dismissed.
At least the priest from the memory had proven potential.
That curtain was something only seen after the war began.
The memory's timing overlaps with MacDullin Abbey's public exam.
Next, the public fundraiser...
Like the current public exam, there was an event drawing crowds in the second playthrough too?
I heard that rumor at a future point passing near MacDullin Abbey.
So, I didn't know about the 'public fundraiser' at MacDullin Abbey and pass by—it was sheer coincidence.
And bandits...
Hard to connect the memory priest to the bandits, so table that for now.
One question remains.
The priest's character.
Can't know that yet either.
Guess I just need to check directly at MacDullin Abbey now.
"Ian, Ian."
Vivian, who'd just set out, was still unconscious.
Kati sat beside her.
On my lap, fairy-form Mercy was munching the candy stick I'd taken from her.
That Mercy called to me.
"What."
"I found something I wanna do."
"What is it?"
"Someday smacking your back in front of Kati."
Zzt.
Kati's head snapped toward Mercy.
"How about it? Tempting challenge, no?"
"You're awfully bored, huh."
Hmm.
No idea how long it'll last, but she might have tasks worth assigning.
"Mercy."
"Hm?"
Her reply was muffled from chewing candy.
"Wanna cook?"
"...Cook?"
She'd never handled cooking directly, but back with the 1st Party, she'd inspected in my stead.
So she grasped my preferred recipes to some extent.
No time for cooking once things get busy, but trying a bit wouldn't hurt.
"Hmmm... Lemme think."
*
Vivian woke midway, mortified at her sulkiness, and nearly bolted out.
I barely calmed her with another gold coin, and this time she just beamed without fainting.
The carriage pressed on, finally arriving at MacDullin Abbey.
Nestled in the forest's heart, it was a somewhat gloomy, enclosed monastery with dark gray walls.
And inside that monastery was a welcome face.
"Oh, Ian?"
A woman whose sharp expression belied her small frame spotted me and smiled faintly.
"Marie. Long time no see."